27 Facts About Colorado

Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876, exactly 100 years after the Declaration of Independence.

The name "Colorado" comes from the Spanish word for "colored red," originally describing the reddish silt carried by the Colorado River.

Colorado has the highest mean elevation of any U.S. state, at roughly 6,800 feet above sea level.

Glenwood Hot Springs in Glenwood Springs is home to the Grand Pool, widely recognized as the world's largest mineral hot springs pool; it has drawn visitors since 1888.

The U.S. Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, has trained generations of officers and astronauts since it opened in 1955.

Colorado is home to four national parks: Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Denver is nicknamed the "Mile High City" because its official elevation is exactly 5,280 feet, one mile above sea level.

The Colorado State Capitol in Denver has a dome plated in real 24-karat gold leaf, a nod to the state's mining history.

Mount Evans Scenic Byway (renamed Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway in 2023) is the highest paved through-road in North America, topping out around 14,130 feet.

Colorado has 58 mountain peaks above 14,000 feet, known as "fourteeners," which draw mountaineers from around the world.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Morrison is a natural rock-formation venue famous for its acoustics and its long history of legendary concerts.

The Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City stands about 955 feet above the Arkansas River, making it the highest bridge in the United States.

The Cripple Creek & Victor Mine is one of the largest gold mines in the United States, historically producing well over 100,000 ounces of gold in a typical year.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a historic steam-powered train that carries passengers through the San Juan Mountains, running since 1882.

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center is located in Colorado Springs, supporting athletes across many Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Grand Mesa in western Colorado is one of the largest flat-topped mountains in the world, covering roughly 500 square miles.

Katherine Lee Bates was inspired to write the lyrics to "America the Beautiful" after taking in the view from the summit of Pikes Peak in 1893.

The U.S. Mint in Denver, established in 1906, produces billions of coins for circulation each year along with commemorative coins.

Colorado is the only state to have been awarded the Winter Olympics and then turned it down: voters rejected public funding for the 1976 Denver Games in a 1972 referendum.

Dinosaur National Monument in northwestern Colorado holds one of the world's richest deposits of Jurassic dinosaur fossils, including Stegosaurus and Allosaurus.

The Colorado potato beetle, a well-known crop pest, is native to the Mexico–Rocky Mountain region and spread across North America as potato farming expanded.

The Maroon Bells, twin peaks in the Elk Mountains near Aspen, are among the most photographed mountains in North America.

Colorado is consistently ranked among the top states for craft breweries per capita, with more than 400 breweries statewide.

Garden of the Gods, a public park in Colorado Springs, features towering red sandstone formations that are hundreds of millions of years old.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary lab for renewable energy and energy-efficiency research.

Denver's population was estimated at around 715,000 in the mid-2020s, while Colorado as a whole is home to roughly 5.9 million people.

Colorado was one of the first two states, alongside Washington, to legalize recreational marijuana, when voters approved it in 2012.